Doctors order less expensive lab tests when they know the cost

If doctors were better informed about the cost of lab tests, they would request fewer of them for their patients or look for cheaper alternatives, Hopkins researchers have found. Researchers at The Johns Hopkins Hospital put the price on some blood tests for six months and found use of tests declined 9 percent. The hospital saved $400,000 over the six months. The results of the study were published online in JAMA Internal Medicine. Hospitals don't normally display the price of tests to doctors.